Due to wildfires in Montana that fishing trip has been delayed for 3 weeks. Anyway I have had an interest in race car transporters and I especially liked this one.
In 1972 Roger Penske had this 1972 International Fleetstar 2110A chassis powered by a 257-horsepower, 549-cu.in. gasoline V-8. Engineer and star racing driver Mark Donohue, drew up plans for the rig to be capable of hauling the team’s Indy Cars as well as its Can-Am Porsches. It was known as the "Blue Hilton" (named for its forward bunk space and the Penske blue.)
The team used the transporter for many events from 1972 until 1983 when it was sold and not heard of again until 2015 when an alert Penske employee saw it advertised and some of the team spent many hours secretly restoring it again and then surprised Roger when they unveiled it as a special gift for his 80th birthday earlier this year.
Here are some photos of how it was found in 2015.
Some idea of what went into the restoration work.
This is how it looks today after a beautiful restoration.
This is how it looked in 1973 as the Porsche 917/30 is prepared and Roger Penske looks on from beside his transporter.
(Note the work conditions compared to how it would be today !)
(Ken Hyndman )
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